I have read this forum for many years and it is my way of getting my Isle Royale fix. I have read posts about ISRO getting in your blood and during my first trip in 2000 the mosquitoes infected me.

My grandfather who was from the Keeweenaw Peninsula always told my father he would take him to the island someday. That never happened and my grandfather never made it there, despite living his entire life only 45 miles away.

My brothers and I surprised my father in 2000 with a trip on the Queen and the 5 of us spent 3 days in the Rock Harbor area. I was infected.

In 2004 I took my wife and 3 kids (ages 16, 14 and 11) on a 8 day backpacking trip from Rock Harbor to Chippewa/W. Chickenbone and back. My daughter, the oldest, said she never wanted to do that again, but in the last few months she said she would like to go back.

In 2008, now living in Phoenix, Arizona, my wife and youngest son (now 15) flew to Houghton and then to the island for a 9 day backpacking trip from Rock Harbor to Chippewa/McCargoe/Windigo.

My wife and I are contemplating a 30 day backpacking trip on every trail on the island in 2012 and I dream of the island, routes, solitude and weather constantly. This forum gives me my ISRO fix. Darn mosquitoes!

I've noticed a lot how people who have been to IR and later moved away are still drawn to the island. It really makes me appreciate the place as one of "those places" that will forever stick in your head...and you've detailed some of the reasons it does exactly that.

Growing up in the Keeweenaw and not making it to Isle Royale is interesting, but I can see how it happens. When it's only a stone's-throw away, you can easily adapt the "eh, I'll get there next month" attitude, until eventually the whole endeavor slips away.

Jeff-I know what you mean about IR. Next May will be my 20th visit to the island and I look forward to it as much, if not more, than I did the first time. There is something captivating about this island setting. Maybe it is the remoteness of the place and the need to carefully plan out a visit that makes it stand out so much more than other places I have hiked at. Whatever the reason, I always long to return and take trails I have walked before. Your idea of taking an extended trip to cover all the island's trails is a fine one. My eldest son, Kyle, and I did that five years ago and it was a remarkable trip. Be sure to make use of the Voyager as a food drop source if you plan on such a prolonged visit. Also, remember that even after you've hiked every trail they always look different and offer a new experience at a different season or in a different direction. I really think that the more you return to IR the more you want to return yet again. Greg R.